Play Ball!: Belle Vernon, Blackhawk receives byes in Region 6 tourney
Jim Downey | 蘑菇视频
Two late defections left organizers scrambling to piece together the American Legion Baseball Region 6 tournament bracket, and the decision was made that host Blackhawk and Belle Vernon would receive byes as play begins today at Chippewa Park.
Belle Vernon won the Fayette County American Legion Baseball League regular season title.
Uniontown opens play in the 11:30 a.m. game against Ambridge. Familiar foes Connellsville and Charleroi, the defending region champion, follow at 2:30 p.m.
The winner of the Connellsville-Charleroi game then moves in the winner’s bracket game against Blackhawk at 5:30 p.m.
The winner of the Uniontown-Ambridge game plays a winner’s bracket game against Belle Vernon on Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
“You want to win the first game. It takes the pressure off going into the next game,” said Uniontown manager Richie Franks.
Franks knows a little bit about the two Beaver teams.
“Ambridge doesn’t have a lot of pitching, but they can hit the ball pretty well,” said Franks. “Laurel Highlands played Blackhawk (in the spring). Blackhawk never beats themselves. They do all the small things right.
“They will scrap.”
The loser of the Uniontown-Ambridge game faces the loser of the Charleroi/Connellsville-Blackhawk game on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The loser of the Charleroi-Connellsville game plays the loser of the Uniontown/Ambridge-Belle Vernon game at 5:30. Both are elimination games.
The two undefeated teams from the first two days meet on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. The winners of the two loser’s bracket games face one another at 2:30 p.m., with the winner playing the loser of the earlier winner’s bracket game at 5:30.
The title game will be played Monday at 2:30 p.m. Should the team that emerges from the winner’s bracket lose, then the two teams play at 5:30 to decide the tournament champion.
The state tournament begins Friday, July 26, at North Allegheny.
“It doesn’t matter who you play. You have to play everybody,” said Connellsville manager Brian Sankovich after Monday’s FCALBL title game. “I’m sure we’ll see Belle Vernon again. We know them pretty well.”
The bright side to a six-team bracket is the positive impact it has on figuring out the pitching rotation in respect to pitch totals.
“The pitch count stays the same. A pitcher can only throw 105 pitches. If he throws about 80 pitches, he’s done for the tournament,” said Franks. “If the pitch count is capped at 60 on Friday, then he can pitch on Monday.
“Under 30 pitches and you don’t need any rest.”
As for his pitching staff, Franks said, “We can comfortably go four starters deep. Some of the guys are better in a relief role than the starter role.”